Guiding catheters are indispensable medical devices that allow a physician to locate and cannulate vessels in a patient's anatomy for performing various medical procedures. Guiding catheters are commonly used in cardiac access procedures such as heart vessel mapping (venography) and implanting of cardiac pacing devices. Cannulating heart vessels typically requires navigating a small diameter, flexible guide through convoluted vasculature into a heart chamber, and then into a destination heart vessel. Once the destination heart vessel is reached, the catheter acts as a conduit for insertion of payloads into the vessel.
In one example of a cardiac implant procedure, pacing devices may be implanted on both sides of the heart. One pacing device is placed in the right ventricle and the other pacing device is placed in the great coronary vein. A guiding catheter can be used to implant this second device into the coronary vein by cannulating the coronary sinus ostium (located in the right atrium) with the catheter.
The ostium of the coronary sinus is a relatively small opening in the right atrium that provides access to the coronary sinus. As a result, the procedure involved in locating the ostium can be time consuming and difficult. The physician may have various aids in locating the coronary sinus, such as imaging or sensors. Notwithstanding such aids, locating the ostium can still be hit or miss, as it relies on the skill of the physician in properly manipulating the proximal end of the catheter. A more organized way of allowing the physician to search for a vessel such as the coronary sinus is desirable.